The Queen was in the courtyard, in which the children had received their ovation—so short a time ago, and yet how long it seemed. Then the courtyard had been a scene of the calm and charming gaiety of a nation at peace; now it was full of the ardent, intense inactivity of waiting warriors. The Queen in her gleaming coral armor met them as the password opened a way to her through the close-packed ranks of the soldiers. She took the stone and read it, and with true royal kindness she found time, even at such a moment, for a word of thanks to the messengers. “See the Narwhals start,” she added, “and then back to your posts with all speed. Tell your commanding officer that so far the Book People have made no sign, but the golden gate is strongly defended by the King’s Own Cod, and—” “I didn’t know there was a King,” said Francis. The Queen looked stern, and the Mackerel guide jerked Francis’s magic coattail warningly and whispered “Hush!” “The King,” said the Queen quietly, “is no more. He was lost at sea.” When the splendid steady column of Narwhals had marched off to its appointed place the children bowed to the Queen and went back to their posts. “I’m sorry I said anything,” said Francis to the Mackerel, “but I didn’t know. Besides, how can a Mer-king be lost at sea?” “Aren’t your Kings lost on land?” asked the Mackerel, “or if not Kings, men quite as good? What about explorers?” “I see,” said Mavis; “and doesn’t anyone know what has become of him?” “No,” said the Mackerel; “he has been lost for a very long time. We fear the worst. If he were alive he would have come back. We think the Under Folk have him. They bewitch prisoners so that they forget who they are. Of course, there’s the antidote. Every uniform is made with a little antidote pocket just over the heart.” He put his fin inside his scales and produced a little golden case, just like a skate’s egg. “You’ve got them, too, of course,” he added. “If you are taken prisoner swallow the contents at once.” “But if you forget who you are,” said Francis, “don’t you forget the antidote?” “No charm,” the Mackerel assured him, “is strong enough to make one forget one’s counter-charm.” And now they were back at the Lobster-guarded gate. The Princess ran to meet them. “What a time you’ve been,” she said. “Is all well? Have the Narwhals taken up their position?” Satisfied on this point, she led the children up a way long and steep to a window in the wall whence they could look down on the ravine and see the advance of the foe. The Narwhals were halted about halfway up the ravine, where it widened to a sort of amphitheater. Here, among the rocks, they lay in ambush, waiting for the advance of the foe.